PGRI Introduction:  Chris Sfatos and I are surrounded by INTRALOT’s next-generation products at ICE Totally Gaming Show in London. This new product portfolio, including the new Lottery central system Lotos X and the new Sports betting platform, INTRALOT Orion, is geared towards the digitalization and personalization of the player journey enabling Lotteries’ modernization and digital transformation. INTRALOT's holistic approach is built on a flexible open architecture that puts power into the hands of the operator, a software platform that enables fast and efficient updates, integrations, scalable expansion, and increases speed-to-market while reducing total cost of ownership for the operators.  It’s an exciting time of change for both the industry and for INTRALOT.

INTRALOT is first and foremost a technology company which integrates best-practices from its global operations with the jurisdiction-specific insights of its clients to produce the best results and implement a tailored industry best-in-class Responsible Gaming strategy and program in any operation globally.  Its global resources are brought to bear for the benefit of all its clients, but with respect for the role of the client who knows what works best in the local market and in accordance with the WLA (World Lottery Association) and international principles and standards for Responsible Gaming.

Chris Sfatos describes the new phygital space, the merging of online and retail, the complementarity rather than the conflict between multiple channels of distribution, and how the well-conceived distribution strategy caters to the needs of the modern player desire for options and diversity of experience.

Paul Jason:      How will the future differ most from the past, in the industry and for INTRALOT? 

Chris Sfatos:  It is our firm belief at INTRALOT that first and foremost we must understand our players and their needs. For a while now, we have been focusing our product development strategy around the needs of the modern player.  We know that, in the digital era, the player is much more demanding, and that is exactly why we offer operators technology that will further enhance understanding of their players and allow them to serve their needs in a fast, effective and personalized manner. And while this is now imperative for the younger demographic, it is quickly becoming essential across all demographics, verticals, and channels.

Modern technologies give us the ability to discern the habits of individual players and adapt to them.  Our product and service planning evolves around the entire player journey that starts with awareness, moves on to wanting to play, then experiencing play, then becoming a loyal customer, and finally becoming an ambassador; this player journey is for us the driving force behind the design and the adaptation of our products.  We have products for every part of the journey: for creating awareness, for motivating the desire to play, for optimizing the player experience itself that includes the terminal, the play slip, the electronic play slip, etc. And this applies to every distribution channel.

Phygital combines retail space with online and other channels, but it also refers to the digitization of the retail shopping experience. How does this provide an opportunity to add value to the consumer experience?

C. Sfatos: It’s very clear that the physical and the digital world are merging, and in a surprisingly complementary way. The two channels are so different and, as a result, the consumer experience is very different.  Digital is available everywhere, but the rules of engagement are varied and ambiguous, and they are changing as we speak so the consumer is still learning.  Conversely, we have been shopping in stores for centuries which makes the physical experience familiar and comfortable.  The physical platform also provides opportunity for innovation to make it more social and entertaining.  Different channels deliver different advantages and benefits, and the consumer will always want access to the variety of benefits that multiple channels provide.  So, giving the player the opportunity to experience a game they trust, for a cause they believe in, to participate in a genre of entertainment that they are familiar with but giving them the variety of experience - this renders the overall player experience more attractive.  Achieving awareness and consideration is easier in the digital world, while experiencing the ‘game’ is more efficient in the retail outlets.  Data processing and customer relations management is easier in the digital world. 

Ultimately, the physical and the digital worlds each come with certain advantages that can be complementary; and they can be incorporated into the design of an integrated product that traverses across both the physical and the digital worlds according to the strengths of each.  We see this in sports betting: fixed odds betting in retail can attract player-ship in spite of a much lower payout because it has the benefit of the physical network.  The online can afford to offer higher payouts in order to attract and maintain the players, but the physical can compete with lower prize payouts, underscoring the tremendous capabilities of retail networks.  So we at INTRALOT see the complementarity of the two and have designed into the sports betting platform, for example, an omni-channel platform:  The INTRALOT Orion, which we are showcasing here at ICE today, incorporates the whole solution.

When we talk about a whole solution – does it enable the player to be able to learn quickly and intuitively going from one channel to another so they don’t have to learn different protocols, different user interfaces and stuff like that. 

Switching the subject slightly to modernization of retail: Are there ways that the commercial partner like INTRALOT and the lottery operator could work more collaboratively with the retailer to achieve mutually desirable ends?